The Clapping Clock website recognizes appreciation of frontline workers ‘round the world
(New York, NY) -- It’s 7pm in New York City, 21:00 across Europe and around 5:30pm in suburbs throughout the United States. In whatever time zone or whichever corner of the world you are, a new behavior has emerged--communities coming together to clap and show their appreciation for frontline workers.
Employees of full-service communications agency, Hudson Rouge, were inspired to illuminate this same, recurring, nightly act and to help people see this local phenomenon from a global perspective.
“We thought it would be inspiring to see how it’s not just you or your community staying at home, but all types of people in so many different places. We wanted to show people that we’re all in this together, and we’re part of something bigger than just our hometown or city,” said Stephen Wright, Associate Creative Director, Hudson Rouge.
“At first it was a series of grassroots efforts that emerged organically without much central organization, and it quickly took on a life of its own as it spread from place to place. It wasn’t just happening in different cities, it was happening in different ways, and not just clapping, but singing, banging pots and pans – and at different times. Even as stay-home orders begin to lift, we thought we could create something to capture this moment in time and help more people experience the joyful and cathartic nature of applause,” continued Wright.
After researching many different cities and observing some had more regularity or prominence of the nightly ritual than others, the creators decided that Twitter and Instagram were both common sharing platforms. Twitter had the added capability to identify users’ location. The Clapping Clock aggregates video recordings and photos captured from actual posts by city, including New York, London, Paris, Madrid, and Vancouver.
A living repository
Ironically, the daily applause goes unheard by a lot of the audience it honors, who might otherwise be working, caring for others, commuting or sleeping when clapping happened in their city. By aggregating social content on a daily basis[i], the Clapping Clock serves as a living repository that they could witness in near real time, at any time. The creators are hopeful that they might also revisit the site if they needed a boost from humanity.
“If frontline and other healthcare workers discover this site and watch some clapping that they might otherwise have missed, we’ll consider this site a huge success,” said Jon Pearce, Chief Creative Officer, Hudson Rouge.
“As we’ve already started to see, the clapping happening around the world will slow down. Eventually, it will come to a stop. At that point, maybe the Clapping Clock won’t be as necessary anymore, and that’s fine. It was meant to capture a moment in time, not be timeless. Maybe when the clapping stops, it will become a time capsule that showcases an unprecedented global event when people staying home all over the world came together from afar to show their appreciation for those who place their own well-being aside to care for others.”
Visit www.clappingclock.com.
[i] Tweets are provided by permission from the original posters.